The a9 has arrived

It was delivered this afternoon, with Firmware 6. I think I shall try to sell the battery grip.

Looks to be in very good condition. Did a camera reset to get rid of previous owner’s settings. Menu and functions show a high degree of overlap with my a7Riii. The combination of my Friedman guide to the a7Riii and Galer’s video on a9 settings seems to give me a pretty good explanation of what it all does.

Also really pleased to find my Arca base plate with half-leather case fits the a9 as perfectly as my a7Riii. It makes it a bit more comfortable to hold with a big lens attached.

All I need to do now is get it all customised for my use.

Looking forward to seeing what you produce with this pro level gear.

I am pretty sure you were looking for A6600, unless I'm dreaming things.... which seems to have turned into an A9

Regardless, congrats. Once you get used to blackout free shooting there is no going back

Wētāpunga wrote: It was delivered this afternoon, with Firmware 6. I think I shall try to sell the battery grip.

Congratulations. 197 exposures? =) (shutter actuations)

I did the exactly same thing, sell the battery grip my used a9 came with. Feels nice but so does the camera on its own. Compared to my a7rii it feels significantly sturdier, the rear wheel doesn't feel as if it is about to fall off among other things. Also every facet of operational speed and AF accuracy..the a7rii isn't a prius compared to an a9 lamborghini, the a7rii is a field of cows and is nowadays relegated to mf lenses and when I have patience. Also the z-type battery can stand the cold.

Comparing to the a7riii is a lot less lopsided I guess. Does the a7riii (the gen iii) have the same physical feel to it as the a9?

Edited by Kilkry - 11 February 2022 at 15:28

4paul wrote: Kilkry wrote: when I have patience. Also the battery can stand the cold. LOL - seriously, thanks for saying this, I still have an a7ii and not a shoot goes by that I don't have to stop myself from bouncing it off the pavement. Especially when the temp is below freezing, I can't take the camera out from my coat or it registers the full battery as exhausted. You can use the a9 in winter outside your coat? On a tripod?

Haven't done any scientific tests but grabbing the camera for an hour's shoot in the cold even if I haven't just charged the battery and it is only at 60% hasn't been an issue. That kind of thing with the a7rii and w-type almost always results in "battery exhausted", sometimes within minutes. On a tripod in the cold for an extended period it does drain but not like the w-type and the a7rii.

Kilkry wrote: Wētāpunga wrote: It was delivered this afternoon, with Firmware 6. I think I shall try to sell the battery grip. Congratulations. 197 exposures? =) (shutter actuations)... Comparing to the a7riii is a lot less lopsided I guess. Does the a7riii (the gen iii) have the same physical feel to it as the a9?

About 2000 mechanical shutter actuations and not even any paint wear on the corners that seems common in used a9s. I think it has a lot of life left in it.

The difference with the a7Riii seems a lot less lopsided. The a7Riii also has a tough body (mine took a direct hit on the back with gannet guano last year and cleaned up perfectly) and the 'feel' is much the same. A deeper grip to accommodate the larger battery, takes the same battery grip or half case with Arca base plate etc. I suspect there is a lot of shared components to keep manufacturing costs down.

I do mostly have my a7Riii set up for manual focus work (hence the collection of Loxia and Voigtlander lenses) but my feeling is the 3rd generation a7 cameras are when the E-mount really took off as a replacement for DSLRs. I've happily shot events with my a7Riii and found its focusing speed and accuracy to be excellent.